quote:Welcome to this week's Novel Support Group (NSG). Anyone can join. If you're new, tell us a bit about who you are and what project you are working on. Feel free to update the NSG Work in Progress thread with your current projects. Although we can report on any number of things, here is a list of suggestions (suggestions welcomed).

What were your goals last week and did you accomplish them?Describe what you worked on.Set goals for next week.Did you learn something during this week?Here is a list of things that you can do each week as we work on our novels (suggestions welcomed).

Writing on a novelCharacterizationWorld BuildingRelevant research=-=-=-=-=

As for me:

Last Week's Goals:

On the Shelf:THE SHAMAN'S CURSETHE IGNORED PROPHECYBLOOD WILL TELL

DREAMER'S ROSE: Keep working on the revisions.Yes.

MAGE STORM: Send three more queries out.Yes.

SEVEN STARS: Let's see if I can get this story moving, now. Nope, not yet.

posted February 04, 201111:06 PM
I was able to work on each of my three novels.

Did the most on "Storm Born". Just finishing the longest chapter in the book...so far anyway. I have three more chapters to do. Unless I come up with another one. Each of the three has to average a tad under 8,000 words though to reach my minimum of 84,000 words. We shall see how it goes.

Today I realized I had completely forgotten about something I had set up in the first chapter. The bad guy has to have something with claws working for him. Probably a werewolf but something else might do. That should be worth a couple of thousand words.

I did the least work on "New Mage" but I was able to to do something. I got to the point where my MC is about to get drugged by someone who wants to rape her. But still not sure how he gets the stuff into her drink.

Started redoing chapter two of "Bright Lights" it might take me a while but more about that next. I started redoing chapter one again too but so far haven't gotten very far.

With other stuff I did some posts on my blog and worked on revising a short story.

Next week goals are to finish the revising of the short story and that chapter two. And work more on "New Mage".

But I will have to cut down on this site to do it. It may not matter but for one to four weeks my procrastinating on this site will be greatly cut back. I will still be doing the groups and challenge but that will mostly be it. That might include the next NSG threads.

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited February 04, 2011).]

[This message has been edited by LDWriter2 (edited February 04, 2011).]

posted February 07, 201107:03 AM
Alright, this is my first full week with the "treehouse." So far very helpful in terms of structuring my week. I now get up at 0600 every day except for the sabbath and sometimes sunday and start editing by 0700. I'm very much appreciating!

Last Weeks Goals:

Edit 20 pages a day on "New Arbor Day": It was a number to start with, and never cracked ten pages. I thought it would be easier since the story was finished and all I needed was to apostrophize my "it's" and hyphenate my half-s. But line by line, punctuation stuff...

Write new 5 pages new stuff per day on "Evangeline": I worked fairly consistantly, but I didn't meet my goal here either. Spent most of the time on background work, which will translate into more than five pages a day, but...I'll have to revise my goals.

posted February 07, 201108:53 AM
I sent my first few chapters (only 3 pages each) to the WCE group so I feel active in that department. Didn't do any work on the novel per se but I am thinking about it all the time.

I'm reading "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass so that's keeping my head in the game.

Currently editing my WoTF for this quarter, but when that's done I'm going to strengthen what I have in my novel so far (based on what I've learned from the book) then get back to some new pages.

posted February 07, 201109:36 AM
Axeminster, I've just got to say that I don't think it's a good idea to go back and revise during the first draft--especially so early in the first draft.

Revising and first draft are totally different kinds of work, involving different parts of the brain. You're putting your head in the wrong place to be able to make real progress if you do that. Make a couple of notes of what you want to change and press forward until you get to THE END. Then you can go back and fix things.

Normally I would agree, but I am completely stuck. I mean encased in carbonite stuck with the novel.

I am on page 216. I finally realized my characters aren't flawed enough. I've got to go back and break some bones then press on. Not major stuff, but things are a little too easy, so I'm going to mess with their heads then go to pg. 217

quote:LDwriter: I had that happen recently, forgetting about some setup detail from earlier. I misplaced two children in the last three or so chapeters of "New Arbor Day."

I hope their parents weren't angry.

But yeah that type of thing is easy to do. I have done it before but in this case it's something major. I'm going to have to put in something about dead bodies being torn apart, I think.

And speaking of that novel, I just finished one chapter and want to start the next one tomorrow but I discovered I'm not sure where to go next. I need a clue for my MC to find. Actually he has a couple but doesn't know it yet. I want at least one more chapter before he figures out a major clue.

Hmmm, maybe he can go back to try to find the elf he found living in an alleyway but the guy's gone back home for a while and taken his hell hound with him so instead my hero finds two guys who are not friendly at all.

posted February 08, 201109:58 PM
Axeminister, I would normally agree with Meredith. I have two good friends who have yet to finish a full novel length work, I attribute it to continually going back to recraft the earlier portions.

But sometimes, you do have to go back and change things, but maybe we're talking minor surgery. For each story I write, I have at least three files. The story; The Guide which has bios for every character, place, thing or idea; and a timeline which gets progressively more specific from vagurey as the "storytime" approaches future planned events (or as I fill in specifics about prehistory).

The third file helps when I need to change something, I can get a rough idea of the fallout, make the changes in the most key places then press on with the story as is as if I just changed the past. Then I iron out the wrinkles on the actual first revision and use the file to keep me from getting the current and disregarded timelines confused.

posted February 09, 201101:07 AM
I was crazy writing last month up to this month.

I've been doing w1s1 and have managed to get well ahead of my time line. I've been pushing myself far out of my comfort zone. Writing stories about whatever I can imagine that week, and often more than one. I'll pick a contest on duotrope and use their subject sometimes, write a story, and do my best possible edit, twice and then send it off, not looking back, but just getting out their and then moving on to the next thing.

Around this I worked on my Wotf story.

and my WIP novel is almost finished for book one.

Then I hit February. My real job, required new licensing, which required extra classes around work. It gave me no breathing room and writing ground to a halt, and then as soon as I was done - I got sick with a bad case of the flu, and today was my first day coherent, and out of bed. But I'm still fading in and out of drowsiness. I very rarely get sick, but when I do, it's usually titanic level. W's going under, glub, glub.

Goal for next week - sit and walk upright without feeling green and seeing stars. And regularly I love my vivid imagination, but not when a fever has hold of it, because my dreams in this state of health take on a whole new life of their own that sometimes scares the heck out of me. Where when you wake up you're not sure whats real, and the dreams don't fade but feel embedded in your mind as if you've really experienced them.

anyway, hopefully I'm on the curve toward getting better.

W.

[This message has been edited by walexander (edited February 09, 2011).]